East coast braced for storm surge floods

Emergency services are on standby on the east coast where a predicted tidal surge is posing "extreme danger to life and property".The Environment Agency has put out eight severe flood warnings in Norfolk and Suffolk and parts of Essex, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and Kent are also on alert.More than 7,000 homes have been evacuated in Great Yarmouth alone and police are warning that the elderly and the young are most at risk.Prime Minister Gordon Brown chaired an emergency Cobra committee meeting as the surge - a combination of gale force winds and a high tide - approached from the North Sea.Experts have likened the conditions to those leading up to the floods of 1953 - when large parts of East Anglia were left under water.In a brief statement to the Commons, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said police were on standby in the areas most likely to be affected to co-ordinate the emergency response - including evacuation if necessary."There is a risk of flood defences being over-topped on the coast and in tidal rivers, especially in East Anglia, particularly the Norfolk Broads and the coast south of Great Yarmouth including Lowestoft, and areas south of this as far as the coast of Kent," he said."In the area as a whole there are currently six severe flood warnings, five flood warnings and 15 flood watches. There are also several flood warnings and flood watches in place in Yorkshire."© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

» More on this story... «

ITN | November 9, 2007

Tags:. .large. .force. .five. .water. .severe